Haynes stresses inclusion, negotiations with students in pitch for NMSU post

On Tuesday, Brian Haynes was the second candidate to present himself for the top leadership job at New Mexico State University. This week, four finalists were scheduled for a series of public forums where they made introductory statements and answered questions. 

Like Arsenio Romero the day before, Haynes addressed staff and students in separate meetings that took place in a darkened auditorium at the Corbett Center Student Union on the Las Cruces campus, with prepared questions projected on a screen behind him, leaving him in silhouette. The candidates also took unscripted questions from those in attendance and online. 

Haynes has served as vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of California, Riverside since 2018, and holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Ohio University. He introduced himself as a successful product of public higher education institutions (with a Bachelor’s from Ohio State University, and Master’s and doctoral degrees from OU). 

He pointed out that Riverside, like NMSU, is a Hispanic-serving institution and serves similar student demographics with respect to ethnic background and economic class, and that he worked at Florida International University in Miami, a similarly-sized institution. 

Brian Haynes, a candidate for New Mexico State University’s next president, speaks to students at the Corbett Center Student Union on Sept. 10, …

“The mission, vision and values of this institution align with who I am on a personal and professional level,” Haynes said in front of a small audience of students and some staff Tuesday afternoon. Like other candidates, Haynes appeared before faculty and staff in the morning and would appear for a community forum at the Las Cruces Convention Center later in the day. 

In an address and question-and-answer session lasting less than one hour, Haynes emphasized the importance of assessing students’ needs before they arrive to campus and assuring wraparound services to support them, boosting retention and graduation rates, and maintaining an atmosphere on campus of respect for diversity and inclusion of a range of backgrounds, practices and perspectives.

Haynes was asked about his approach to negotiating with unionized workers on a campus where graduate workers and faculty have both formed collective bargaining units, as well as his stance toward student protest organizers. 

Shortly before graduation this spring, a student protest encampment expressing solidarity with civilians in Gaza briefly occupied space on the Las Cruces campus, calling on NMSU to disclose investments related to Israel and calling for divestment from funds profiting from, or financing, Israeli military operations in Gaza. Protesters, frustrated with negotiations with university administration, later held a sit-in at the campus building housing top administrative offices for a few hours before police moved in and arrested the group. 

At UC Riverside, Haynes was part of a team that negotiated with organizers of a similar encampment on that campus, who had made similar demands there and occupied administrative offices at Hinderaker Hall. According to reporting by the Highlander, a campus news outlet, protesters and administrators reached an agreement that ended the encampment with no arrests or dismissals of students. 

“We worked with our students on all sides of that conversation,” Haynes said Tuesday. “Unlike other peer institutions in the UC, we had zero arrests. None of our students were charged with anything when they took over Hinderaker, and we've agreed to ongoing conversations about how we could do a better job improving the overall environment. That’s how I would respond.” 

The UC system negotiates with 15 bargaining units and eight unions on behalf of over 137,000 workers, per its website. Haynes indicated he was used to the bargaining process and organized workforce units. 

“We do whatever we can to make sure that we do not create an adversarial relationship,” Haynes said of his approach to negotiations after he was asked, point blank, if he would authorize legal representation aiming to break unions.

Responding to a question regarding protections for controversial speech on campus – a flashpoint in national politics, particularly as campus protests over Israel’s war in Gaza spread nationwide last spring and raised questions about the line between academic freedom and harassment based on ethnicity, religion or political beliefs – Haynes said he opposed limits on speech. However, in actions he attributed to “outside groups,” he said, “We have to find ways to ensure that that free speech does not cross thresholds that negatively impact students, faculty or staff … One of the things we talk about a lot (in Riverside) is respect for each other.” 

Participants in this week's sessions are encouraged to complete surveys available via nmsu.edu/president-search after viewing each candidate’s presentations. NMSU’s board of regents is expected to make a selection later this month. 

A schedule of this week's presentations is available here.